07 April 2012 7:16 PM

I said I'd never stand as an MP... Well, I've changed my mind

This is Peter Hitchens' Mail on Sunday column

If George Galloway can get elected, should I too stand for Parliament? I have resisted the idea for years. I once worked at Westminster and saw the powerlessness of the individual MP against the thuggish pressure of the party whips.

I know that almost all elections in this country are rigged to suit the big parties. I am saddened by the way so many good people honestly imagine that they pick their own MPs at General Elections.

In fact, by clinging to habitual party loyalties, they just confirm the choices already made for them in secret by the party machines.

These machines are ruthlessly centralised nowadays, so that any independent or honest person is sifted out of the selection process. A few get through by accident, but you will have noticed that the experiment with open primaries has not been repeated. We can’t have actual voters playing any real part in picking candidates for safe seats. That would mean revolution.

Then there is the problem of party loyalty itself. I am endlessly baffled by the way in which the patriotic, honest, law-abiding people of this country vote for Labour and Tory candidates who loathe Britain and refuse to stand up for nation, law, liberty or justice. Yet they do. The millions of patriots who voted Tory at the last Election committed an act of self-harming idiocy. To support Mr Cameron’s openly declared Left-liberal project was as unreasonable as punching yourself repeatedly in the face, or burgling your own house.

Yet suddenly, in the past few weeks, I think we can hear the sound of mental chains snapping. The ridiculous and squalid performance of the Government on so many different subjects has – perhaps briefly – woken large numbers of people from their dreamlike doze of dangerous complacency.

They may have vaguely known that government was for sale. But the sight and sound of the unlovely Peter Cruddas openly selling the Prime Minister of this country (and his wife) to anyone with the money to pay suddenly brought home the truth in a way that thousands of words could not have done.

Mr Slippery’s attempt to get himself out of this was even more obviously the act of a fraud who has been found out and knows it. Caught in the searchlight, we saw a naked Public Relations Man, whose first and last resort is trickery and slickness, because that is what he prefers.

First we had a fake panic over petrol, then a fake pretence at being a man of the people by claiming to have stuffed his face with a fictitious Cornish pasty from a shop that had long ceased to exist. What a surprise, then, to find him last week claiming unconvincingly to have a lively Christian faith, while his Home Secretary gets on with snubbing and sidelining genuine Christians in the accursed name of ‘equality and diversity’ – Mr Slippery’s real religion, as we surely must now realise.

Those of us who have known this for ages, who have studied Mr Slippery’s bottomless cynicism, grotesquely greedy expenses claims and instinctive Leftism on all major issues, have until now been stuck hopelessly at the edge of things, surrounded by deluded optimists who think that Mr Slippery is only held back by Nick Clegg, and is preparing to emerge as his true self at some vague point in the future, round about the same place as the one where parallel lines meet.

Surely this is now unsustainable. As for the other parties, they are the same. I think that is one of the reasons for George Galloway’s victory in Bradford West. The old loyalties are at last dying, the Coalition actually speaks for nobody, there is no proper opposition in Parliament and – instinctively, like a flower seeking light – the electorate is recognising that this has to be put right. Mr Galloway is not, of course, the solution. We must do better than that.

John Maynard Keynes once said: ‘When the facts change, I change my mind.’ And he asked those who criticised him: ‘What do you do, sir?’ Well, I too have changed my mind.

And I think several hundred other people should do the same. In each parliamentary seat, concerned and wise men and women should now turn their minds to finding a candidate who has independence of mind, who is neither bigoted nor politically correct, who loves this country and is proud of its independence and its ancient liberties, who hates crime and injustice, who supports the married family and the rule of law, who understands that education without authority is impossible.

Where by-elections arise, they should be ready to fight them, and when the next General Election comes they should be ready to fight that too, to bypass and overthrow the sordid, discredited tyranny of spivs, placemen and careerists that is now ruining what ought to be one of the greatest civilisations on Earth.

I urge them to do so, under the simple motto of Justice and Liberty, a name that nobody can copyright and a pledge that nobody can fake. And if they do, then I’ll seriously consider putting my name forward.

Palin: Ignorant but profoundly decent

There is an extraordinary new film about Sarah Palin, Game Change, in which that fine actress Julianne Moore – herself a PC Leftist – gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the luckless Vice-Presidential candidate, who was even more ignorant about politics than our own Anthony Blair.

Unintentionally, the makers of the film reveal that Mrs Palin, for all her failings, is in fact a profoundly good person.

The scenes of her meeting Down’s children on her campaign and treating them as they should be treated – as fully human, valuable people rather than as embarrassments who should have been aborted – are inexpressibly moving. .......................................................

This weekend thousands of returning British travellers will face appalling passport queues. When will people realise that this is because the EU bans us from having what every truly independent country has – special queues for our own subjects?France can teach us nothing about 'human rights'

France can teach us nothing about 'human rights'

Beware of praising France’s fake-conservative President Sarkozy (never more fake, and never more conservative than during elections) for deporting Islamists in defiance of the Human Rights Charter.

France can do this because, for all its democratic trappings, it is utterly different from Britain. Like most of our continental neighbours, it has no real tradition of law being above power – the key to civilisation.

Britain by contrast, abides by the laws she makes and the treaties she signs, a principle going back to Magna Carta. That is why there is no compromise available.

If we are to regain our own laws and liberties, we must withdraw from the Human Rights Charter and leave the European Union too. Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights are a far better guarantee.

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens, click on Comments and scroll down

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I just wish to comment on your excellent, detailed response to the letter written to you by Mike Barnes.
This is the kind of response that we should be expecting from the incumbent traitors in parliament, in reply to the myriads of criticisms from those whom they fooled into believing that they would be cared for by a cabal of dimwitted thugs educated far beyond their level of intelligence.
Your knowledge of alleged governmental, judicial and ongoing police corruption is acknowledged to be far in excess to that of he whom we are currently encumbered with and, It is my honest opinion that you owe it to both our country and its people to volunteer yourself as a parliamentary candidate for what hopefully 'right-wing' party you may choose to represent.

Again, Mr Hitchens, you state the correct and, surely, the obvious. Please give due notice should you decide to stand so that, if necessary, I have time to move there to add my vote!
One point though, I was surprised by the Conservative MPs choice of leader in the first place and their unwillingness to make the necessary change when it became clear that he was not an upholder of our values. I don't relish making any personal critical remarks but, now, we are in a quite terrifying situation. Where are today's Churchills or Thatchers?

Do you not think a better name for Cameron than Mr. Slippery, is the one that is used in Westminster out of his hearing, and which apparently drives him to paroxysms of rage: Flashman. It describes him to a tee; an unscrupulous bully, who will say absolutely anything to serve his ends, tell the grossest lies, while fooling a substantial percentage of all he comes into contact with.

I vote for a change of moniker for hoodie-hugger Dave. It will be worth it simply to imagine him recoiling in mental outrage at seeing the name he detests printed for all to see in the MoS. Especially if you accompany it with an explanation as to why you are renaming the oily one.

Nick Mills
How long has UKIP been around and what have they achieved?
Rather like P Hitchens you think an alternative party could flourish.. they haven't and they won't because we don't have a democracy, look at the mayoral hustings in London where the top four candidates ( are the Greens really up there!) get free exposure whilst the apparently designated ( by whom ) lesser candidates have no media exposure. Hitchens party may be the 'thoughtfull' party but it will be labelled extreme right wing and as such will be marginalised.

BBC Radio 4, Thursday, 12th April 8:30 p:m. 'In Business'[ presented by Peter Day.
A French bloke Mr Day was interviewing said that part of the problem with the Euro is that England (sic) won't join and that England needs to get real!
His comments might have been music to some ears at the BBC but I was fuming.
If you have the facility and didn't happen to be listening, then please do.

I would willingly stand under the banner 'Justice & Liberty'. From reading the comments following your article on Sunday many people are crying out for such an opportunity. You, if you stood as an independent MP, would get many many votes. This country so needs someone actually to stand up for the UK, for the electorate, for christian beliefs, marriage, law & order, our boarders, grammar schools, the list goes on and on and you generally pick them all up in your articles.
I sincerely hope you do. If you don't then the only option is UKIP
Kind regards
Nick

I wonder, Mr Hitchens, if you were as masochistic as I was and sat up in the early hours listening to Mr Slippery's address in Indonesia. It didn't sound very statesmanlike for him to say how "great" it was to be there. That is the sort of language you use to address your mates, hardly a formal greeting on a world stage. But, he always sounds as if he is trying to be a common man, and fails. And, how embarrassing that he behaved like a modern day crusader, trying to extol the virtues of our form of democracy. Mind your own business, Mr Cameron. Would you appreciate foreigners coming to the UK and lecturing us? His attempt to praise Islam while criticizing some Muslims was excruciatingly patronizing and superior. As for mentioning Twitter................ What planet is he on? He is a disaster as our 'leader.' Who is advising him on PR? Perhaps he thinks as he used to be in the business, he's an expert. He makes me so angry that it is a relief, on Sundays, to share your venom and disappointment. How many more of us are out there, stamping our feet and shaking our heads?

I am not in the least bit grouchy, I have an excellent though sometimes rather cruel sense of humour and a thorough appreciation of the absurd. Indeed, I don't know how I'd survive modern life without a sense of humour.

I have to admit that Mr Hitchens' economic views are far too left orientated for my taste but, then so are those of most other people. I still don't see much point in MPs these days they they "always vote at their party's call and never think of thinking for themselves at all", not that most of seem to have a thought in their head concentrating on advancement and fiddling their expenses.

O that there was such a political party standing for liberty and justice! Only an outpouring of the Spirit of God will bring will bring our nation to its senses. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Your views and writings are appreciated; they reflect the views of the majority of the decent, honest morally-upright people of our nation who feel so utterly helpless and forsaken at this present time.

I have always thought UKIP, if getting the type of voting numbers, that could well force a plebisite.. Getting the shakes. Although they say out of the EU, I just get this gut feeling they are now thinking of change within the EU . As the block they attached to are not ones wanting out. But change from within.
So even these fringe parties are not driven snow are they .And whats written on the tin is no guarrantee.
And change from within would need WW111.

"You have repeatedly castigated Conservative voters for supporting their party at the last election, smugly reciting the mantra "I told you so". So what were the alternatives in 2010?
Would you have preferred people to vote for the discredited Labour party?"

Britons still have a right to abstain from voting at all. If you don't like the candidates offered you, why vote for any of them? Would it not be pretty pathetic to vote for someone, and then complain that he wasn't the sort of chap you had wanted to represent you?
If you went shopping, would you likewise always buy something, even if it wasn't what you wanted?

A huge vote for UKIP would throw a gigantic spanner in the current political
works. I'm looking forward to UKIP attaining more votes than the LibDems in the next General Election. That would, at least, generate a re-think about our EU membership.

Michael Williamson - “I don't suppose you recognise how contradictory those two statements are but logic has never been your strong point…”

The point I am making is that the vast majority of people cast their vote based on the policies of a political party and not on the perceived charisma of individual MPs. However, because of his immense charisma George Galloway is an exception to this rule. Peter Hitchens will fail as an independent MP because he is does not possess Mr Galloway’s magnetic personality and therefore people will not be blinded by personality over policy substance. This is why Mr Hitchens’ only chance of becoming an MP would be for him to join an established political party… and based on his old-school leftist economic views (which are far more important to the public than subjective moral beliefs), Labour would be the most obvious choice. However, this will be just as unworkable because Mr Hitchens seems incapable of compromise and could never toe the party line.

Michael Williamson goes on to ask, “…what is the point of having MPs at all?”

I repeat. In a democracy the electorate are more influenced by party political policies than by personality. And this is a healthy situation. However, this does not mean that individual members of parliament have no influence or importance. But it would be a perilous day for democracy if any single MP becomes ‘bigger’ than his party.

Michael Williamson - “Didn't he (Frank Field) get sacked when his 'social conservative views' proved too much for Tony Blair even though he'd told to produce such a policy?”

What has this to do with the price of (Grimsby) fish? In a democracy political parties contain a vast array of differing opinion. It is the litmus test of a moderate political party that the Conservatives have the likes of John Redwood and Kenneth Clarke coexisting, and Labour has the likes of Peter Mandelson and Dennis Skinner. However, a consensus must be reached when it comes to policy and the Labour leadership has been quite entitled to reject Frank Field’s ideas. Just as Mr Field is quite entitled to criticise Labour policy. That’s the beauty of democracy. It is a measure of just how moderate and tolerant our political parties have become that Mr Field was the first Labour MP to work for David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s Coalition government.

Michael Williamson - “Is that meant to be a joke? Still you know more about hypocrisy than most.”

I’m surprised someone ‘blessed’ with Mr Williamson’s profound grouchiness is even aware of the concept of humour. However, this was the most serious point of my post. All politicians are hypocrites to a certain extent. It’s inevitable. However, there is an acceptable hypocritical threshold that most MPs manage to exist within. Based on his fantasy politics Sunday column, Mr Hitchens’ hypocrisy extends well, well beyond this threshold...

You have repeatedly castigated Conservative voters for supporting their party at the last election, smugly reciting the mantra "I told you so". So what were the alternatives in 2010?
Would you have preferred people to vote for the discredited Labour party?
What about the naively absurd Lib Dems?
Of course there were the myriad independent candidates, but these would have been wasted votes and resulted in another disastrous 5 years of Gordon Brown.
Millions of voters were so disaffected they chose to boycott the election resulting in the hung parliament and feeble coalition we have today.
All that you did (and still do) was to throw rocks at "the useless Tories" while talking vaguely about new parties being formed.
You are in a position of great influence so should have urged people (as I did) to vote for UKIP. A coalition of them and the Tories would have proved to be a far more sensible and effective government.
I too despair of the Tories, having rejected David Davis on several occasions for a string of deadbeats.

Mr Hitchens I take no satisfaction from advising against you running for Parliament. You've not just seen how the media elite destroy genuine conservatives but have quite literally "written the book" on the subject, so know full well what they'll do to 'genuine' opposition.

Posters on this site are mostly thoughtful and intelligent people who despite being force-fed leftist propaganda from age three can spot the lies and endeavor to seek truth regardless of how unfashionable or worse this makes them appear. Whereas a depressingly large amount of the public are like "Bill BNrown."

"And if they do, then I’ll seriously consider putting my name forward. _____No you wont, Peter. You know it and I know It. You would get slaughtered. It would be a public humiliation and a vindication that most of your views are outdated and just plain wrong. I don't think that you could handle that, you would have to stop being so arrogant and smug, once the voting public told you where to go. For the record, I don't hate you personally, a charge you endlessly make on people who disagree with. But I do dislike your extreme right wing views. Oops! Iv'e left the door open for the left wing loony attack."
Posted by: Bill BNrown | 10 April 2012 at 07:14 AM

Do tell us Bill which views you find 'extreme?'

I find it terrifying that the elite can implement a truly extreme policy such as importing millions of aliens from violent societies then label opposition to this 'extreme'. Utterly Orwellian.

An intern or something on the Daily Mail (or so he claims) has berated me elsewhere for seeing anything in Peter Hitchens's appeal for parliamentary candidates, calling him "The Right's answer to George Galloway". Well, yes. Precisely.

UKIP is the Approved Party for disaffected Tories, because it is silly. It is, as Hitchens puts it, a golf club, blazer-and-cravats party. A certain section of the electorate is allowed it and even gently encouraged to support it, because that section is then taken out of serious consideration.

But what if they now opted for something else? What if so did several other sections of the electorate? If George Galloway can get elected, then why can't Peter Hitchens and all sorts of other people not Approved by the political-media complex?

Mike Barnes-my views on guns are that they should never fall into the hands of the general public,i think the USA certainly has a high number of gun related crime.its far better to bring back hanging than have gun laws like the USA.people argue that its barbaric and belongs in the past but im not so sure,due to the methods used between around 1874 and 1964,hanging resulted in an instant and painless death,in a way its far more cruel keeping a prisoner in a cell for the rest of their days.i would say alot of my social views are right wing but on the economy and environment they are quite left wing.its awful that governments allow oil firms to drill in wilderness areas.i had no idea atall that our constitution allows us to bear arms,i would guess that your very much pro gun ownership?

@ nick agnew 1441
What are you views on guns. Mine are that a civilian population with guns keeps both criminals and governments behaving themselves . An unarmed population gets what it gets .And you are aware of what it gets here in Britain . I must say I'm supprised if you are anti gun as most of your posts seem non leftist to say the least.
And today, anywhere where Gold or Oil are found regardless of whom the government may be, wild life and the whole ecosystem becomes second best. Not good at all but the truth alas.
Get ready for the penguins of South Georgia and the Falklands to get a taste as sure they will.
Did you know our constitution allows us the right to bear arms . And to form yoemen armies in protection of our lands. From all enemies. Some even regard our present parliament ,the enemy. So guns were outlawed illegally.Just in case.

I think curtis
you ask a bogus question, inthat. people do not vote for the person but the party. Galloway is just one exception that proves the rule. Hitchens might be another But I fear not. And since when has individual MP's had the slightest interest in any of their constituents views. So far from being all things to all men. He / she is just fodder to the whips.
Perhaps I'm being a tad cynical;. But it comes to most with age.

I agree with the posters who say it would be a mistake for PH to stand for Parliament. When you stand for elections it is very difficult to resist the temptation to split the difference on issues of substance in order to maximise your potential voter base. Puzzlingly PH in his piece above gives very good reasons why being a member of parliament is not a very effective way of advancing your political views, but then disregards his own impeccable logic. There have been a handful of British MPs over the last 30 or so years whom I have admired for their integrity, without always agreeing with them - Bob Marshall-Andrews, Nicholas and Ann Winterton, Teddy Taylor, Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas and a few others but their influence on national politics or even national opinion has been minimal. As a thoughtful conservative journalist who refuses to go along with the neo-liberal orthodoxy of modern Toryism, PH derives much more influence from his columns and books than he would from any speeches he would make in parliament. If he made really effective attacks on the liberal consensus you can be sure the BBC and the rest of the media would ignore them just as they outrageously ignored Harold Pinter's devastating attack on Blair at the Nobel Prize giving ceremony.

Loved your article on sunday re standing as an MP....... but when is it going to happen? What is your plan for changing things? Writing about what is wrong with our country is great but those of us who agree with you are looking for action.

Perhaps I should start by saying that I am not against democracy.
But it does have one built in snag.
People standing for parliament cannot be themselves – not for long.
Here is why.
Every constituency has thousands and thousands of voters. All these voters have a great spread of views and interests.
In order to win, the candidate has to be all things to all people, or at rate as many things to as many people as he or she can.
But can anyone do this without becoming bogus?
Some black civil rights leader in America once said that ‘democracy is hypocrisy’.
I see his point.
Peter, do you think things would be different for you?

Once again, (sigh) , the 'Wot abaht UKIP' posters are directed to the index, the index, the index, the index, the index, the index , the index, the index. THE INDEX. It's there for your benefit. Try the entry marked 'UKIP'

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